National Republican., 1887-11-17
Free Trade After Dinner Speech.

Secretary Lamar who responded to the
toast to "The President" at the annual din
ner Of the New York chamber of commerce
on the 18th instant, said in the course OF
his remarks:
l am reminded Of an oft.repeated assertion
that the foreign commerce of America is and
has been for the last twenty years rapidly d..
clining, and is, indeed, in such q state of de-
preston that nothing but heroic remedies are
adequate to its revival. i believe the con.
trary to be true-that American foreign com.
merce is rapidly increasing,and that with feS
reforms consisting IN the removal of exi,tin.
distractions and the release from existiuE
legal restrictions the United States would no
only overtake Great Britain, but outstrlp her
in the race for commercial supremacy. The
navigation interest is certainly in most de-
plorable condition 1t Is probable that one OF
the causes will be found to he what every in
teTligent merchant believes, that artificial and
legislative restraints are as ruinous to com
merce as they have ever proved to be fatal to
human thought and human freedom.
The occasion was hardly proper one for
Mr.. Lamar to air his freetrade notions
aud 1t was certainly out Of place to insult a
number of his hosts by saying that "every
intelligent merchant agreed with him in
, his free-trade programme.
American foreign commerce is increas-
ing, but 1t Is doing SO In spite Of the efforts
made by the political friends of Mr.. Lama
to strangle 1t in favor of British merchant
and traders, more than one of his Cabinet
associates using their official positions to
pervert law for that purpose.
But Mr.. Lamar was not permitted to air
his free-trade notions without proper
reply. Mr.. Chauncey NJ. Depew, in re,
| spending to the toast "The United States"
referring to the ideas of Mr.. Lamar that free
trade would set everything right, said:
hope that the Democratic party will make
that the first plank Of their platform In the
| coming presidential election, and | promise
him that the party to which belong will st ate
| Its position in equally emphatic terms, ani
| then hope, and | have no doubt he hops,
that we shall have one presidential contest
| fought out in this country where mud aud dirt
AID slsnder and personal delrdctiou aud the
| personality of the candidates shall disappear,
and what principle is to govern the prosperity
of the American people shall be decided dl-
TeCtly By the American people themselves.
These sentiments OF Mr.. Depew were
II
greeted with uproarious applause, showing
that majority OF the gentlemen present
held no Ideas In unison with the expressions
| OF MIR. Lamar
We would be glad to give room to all that
Mr., Depew said, because he says everything
so well, and we cannot refrain from giving
the following, because II Is 90 true and so
graphically told;
Providence has h,,,h to ls the raw material
forlimitless smanuiacuresNndi fertile fields rom
| which to draw susteuGnce flr untold millions
ofpeople. While have fixed views as to the
policy which will continue the harmonious
| development OF agriculture and factories, and
solve labor problems by general prosperity, |
will not disturb the peace OF this meeting OF
diverse opinions by their discussion But there
are some matters Of the first importance upon
which amorg merchants and business men
there can be no dispute. England belts the
globe with her flag, the adventures of her
explorers are the knight errantry of this cen.
tury, and her navles patrol the seas, her armies
brave deadly climates. and her agents visit
savage tribes to find new markets for her man.
fuctures Bismarck has built u wall ofproieG.
| ton about Germany mountains high, TO i'm
prove prices for the German farmers and wages
| for German woTkmen, while all the resources